Remember Me
by MyNameIsCAL
Summary: Fang is the only one of the flock to survive a government brainwashing. He knows it's up to him to find the others and fix things. Meanwhile, Max can't shake the feeling hse knows the homeless man outside her apartment. Alt POVS Max and Fang
1. Chapter 1

**Remember Me – Chapter 1**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

They took everything I had.

_Everything_.

And so people passed me now, either staring or quickly looking away. It was almost Christmas, and the city streets of New York were bustling. I sat with a cup in front of me, an occasional passerby throwing some change in. It would never be enough.

But who am I, you ask? Well, I'm Fang. But you know the beginning of my story, so I'll cut to the chase, right?

It started with a punch in the face. Max came home one day and told me she wanted a divorce. She spewed reasons full of illogic. I couldn't wrap my head around it. Three years we had been married. Three happy years.

And then, the flock started to loose grip too.

I had no choice but to sign the divorce papers. Max moved out immediately and disappeared without a trace. I didn't even say goodbye. It was like my signature was the delete button, and in a blink of an eye she no longer existed. With the rest of the flock falling apart, it didn't take me long to realize that there were other forces working against me though.

Angel was next. In fact, she got kidnapped the day after Max left. I would have went to seek comfort from Iggy or Nudge, but they were in their own sudden mess too.

They were just about to get married when the "accident" happened. Nudge had run out into the street to get away from Iggy when a car hit her. The strange thing was that Gazzy had been driving the car.

The ambulance took Nudge, the cops took Gazzy, and I was snatched away into a van.

A little light was shed onto me then, if you could even call it that. I sat, tied up and bound in a cage, Jeb sitting in front of me, always calm and collected as he explained everything to me.

"This is a new government operation. We're calling it The Operation, quite creative I must say," he told me in his matter-of-factly manner. "We have no choice but to assimilate you into society. There have been too many accidents, and whatever experiments we've still got left are done under extreme supervision. But you won't remember any of this. You'll be better off anyway. I'm sorry, Fang. We're going to have to strip you of your wings, weaken or eliminate your powers, and wipe your memory. It's the only way."

They removed my wings, tried to brainwash me, and dumped me in Texas. When I eventually made my way back to California, everything I knew, the place I called home, was inhabited by other people, no traces of my past left.

I don't know how I survived with my memory. When the process had been done, Jeb asked me if I remembered who Max was, and I had lied and told him no. He showed me pictures of the flock, and I lied about not knowing them. I asked him why I was here, but he wouldn't answer.

Next came my fake identity. Apparently when they brainwashed me, fake memories were supposed to be implanted into my brain. I guess it didn't work, but they didn't ask me anything about myself so I just went with whatever they told me.

"You were in a bad accident," Jeb said, handing me a license and a set of keys. "It's why you have back pains. The ring you're wearing, well, let's just say your wife left you after the divorce. Now, you know where you work, right?"

I just nodded.

"Good. Well, here's your briefcase. We've entrusted you with top secret information. Now, go home and make sure you get to work on time, yes?"

I nodded again and Jeb clapped his hands together, two security guards escorting me out.

My address was on my driver's license, so I was able to get to where I supposedly lived. It was a small apartment: one bedroom, one bathroom, and a small kitchen. The fridge had some milk and eggs, today's newspaper on the counter. I sat down at the kitchen table, pulling out the laptop and a file inside the bag they have given me.

Over the next few year, I adjusted to my new life. I discovered that my job gave me access to everything the government was doing to me, the flock, and others like us. For a whole year I established myself as Nicholas Smith. Secretly, I collected and printed out information about the flock, their whereabouts now. Security was lax, mostly because everyone here was supposedly brainwashed like me. I felt bad for them, but I also had to remind myself that the flock and I were lucky. We escaped, so maybe they actually ended up with better lives.

I also learned that they had weakened my ability to heal. Things like cuts and bruises seemed to take twice as long to disappear, but it was still faster than a normal human. My back hurt like hell too. I had some prescription for pain medication, but once I carried out my plan to find the others, I'd be on my own fighting the pain without it, so I stopped taking them. According to my file, the only reason they had prevent my back from healing was to pretty much torture me into being bitter. Luckily for the others, they wouldn't even know they used to have wings sprouting from their backs.

After I trudged through that long, tiring year, I erased Nicholas Smith from the face of the Earth and left the operation. They would never notice, and I couldn't believe that they could be so sloppy. Then again, maybe it shouldn't have surprised me at all.

I made my way to New York City, where the others were. The money I had wasn't enough to get a place, and after hitchhiking all the way there, I had depleted most of it on food. But maybe it was better. If it weren't for me not having money, I may have turned into an addict on pain pills. Especially with winter, the pain only got worse.

Well, I ought to tell you about the fatal flaw in The Operation.

Out of everyone, Iggy would be the easiest to make contact with. He was in a mental hospital being treated for depression, which meant he wasn't going anywhere. I hadn't really thought how I would convince him of who he was, especially if his memory was gone. When I got there, the nurse told me he hadn't any visitors since he got there, but I told her I was an old friend and she took me to see him.

"Hey, Jacob!" I said, using his fake name when I first saw him.

The nurse left us, convinced I knew him.

"Do I know you?" Iggy asked. He sounded tired. He looked worn out.

"Well, no, you see, but I know you," I managed to say.

"Take a seat." He motioned to one across the table from where he sat. "What's your name?"

"My name is Nick," I told him. "But you can call me Fang."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's an interesting name. Well, mine's Jacob, but you know that."

He stuck out his hand, and I grasped it. He gripped onto it for a long time, eyes glazing over.

"Oh my god…" His eyes refocused a little. "Fang!"

It was then I discovered that our memories weren't completely gone. My contact with Iggy had sparked something, bringing everything back to him. That was the fatal flaw, and I couldn't believe that Jeb, or whoever the hell had decided that wiping our memories would actually work, didn't realize that.

Iggy was the only one I had been able to make contact with though. Angel was a rising politician, Gazzy was a soldier out in war, Max was busy climbing up the corporate ladder for some entertainment company, and Nudge was…

Nudge was dead.

When I went to California during a break from my "job", I had visited her grave. I searched hundreds of files, hoping that maybe her death was faked, that maybe she was just somewhere else, but she wasn't. It tore Iggy apart when I finally told him. Even now, half a year later since I first found him again, I knew he was still blaming himself. Sometimes I thought he was more miserable than he was telling me before I got there.

"I'm getting tired of being here, Fang," he told me. "I don't care if you have to break into Max's apartment to get me out of here!"

"I know, Iggy. I'll get you out of here soon. Any day now, I'll figure out a way to talk to her."

He shook his head. "You tell me that all the time."

I opened and closed my mouth a few times.

Iggy leaned against the table, eyes closed. "You're all I have right now, Fang. I don't want you to think I'm blaming you or anything, ok? Just…be careful."

"I know."

He let out a breath and stuck out his hand. It was our goodbye ritual, and then I turned and walked out the door. Every time I left him, I felt like I was leaving part of myself behind.

After visiting him, like I did at least once a week, I'd go back out on the street and sit at the edge of an alleyway. It was right next to Max's apartment, I watched her go by every day.

And as always, I hoped for the best because, well, that was all I could do for now.

* * *

><p><strong>Well, here's another new one. The first chapter was just a lot of explaining to set up the rest of the story. Anyways, I'll update soon. Thanks for reading!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Remember Me – Chapter 2**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Max's POV-

I woke up, the blankets tangled around me. I dreamt of the same dream every night. It started with me being tied up and getting stuffed into a cage. There was a man who spoke to me, but I could never understand his words. After that, there were these flashes of pained faces, faces I didn't recognize. I'd only see them quickly, and then they would blur, never long enough for me to remember them.

Sometimes I would lay there, trying to decipher the faces, and wonder whether they were faces of people I had seen before. But as always, I couldn't, and so I got out of bed, dragging myself to the bathroom. My apartment was spacious, the window in my bedroom gave a grand view of the city below, but somehow I felt disillusioned by it. I was, well, you know, lonely in such a bit place. Part of me wondered why I had bought this place at all.

It was the morning of Christmas Eve and I was still going to work. That's what the business called for though. Part of me was hoping the snow would start up already and that I'd only spend half a day at work, but the weather hardly ever went in my favor.

I pulled on my jacket and grabbed my bag. Charlie, the security guard, tipped his hat at me as I stepped out of the elevator.

The air was crisp outside. I took in a deep breath and started on my usual route to the subway. There was a homeless man with a dark unruly beard. He's been sitting in the entrance to that alleyway for as long as I had been living here. I dropped a dollar into his cup every morning, and usually a few more later. He'd always say thank you, giving me a smile, and I could never shake the feeling that I knew him. There was something so familiar about his eyes.

Unlike most days, the office was empty. The only people in today were people like me, single and without family to go to for the holidays. Dylan, I guess you could call him my partner in crime, was already working.

"I got you some coffee," he said as soon as I entered the glass walled room.

"Thanks." I put my bag down on the chair. "What have we got to work on today?"

"We have to view some commercials, work on the lineup for the spring. They told me we have to send out emails to some celebrities to ask them to be on some charity show." Dylan pulled out a chair for me. "Hopefully it won't take long."

I sure hoped not. If I had to spend the whole day with Dylan, I was going to go crazy. It was no secret that he wanted me so bad, and it was killing him that I didn't share the same feelings. He was a good guy, but I felt like he was missing something. I just wasn't strong enough to push him away.

Eventually we split off to do work on our own. Even though we shared an office, there was a divider between us. I stared out into the city, watching the people below walk. Sometimes I sat and made up stories about the people, but today I wondered why they weren't with their families, and hoped they had a better excuse than me.

The day dragged on slowly. I found my thoughts wandering to my nightmares, and then to the homeless man sitting outside of my apartment. It was supposed to snow tonight. I hoped he would find a place to stay, or at least a church or some kind of shelter would at least serve him a decent meal. I'm sure the money I had been giving him wasn't enough to even feed him one meal.

_I'll stop somewhere and get food for him_, I thought to myself. _If he's not there, I'll just bring it home I guess_.

Dylan's head popped up over the divider.

"Hey, Max?"

"Yes, Dylan?" I looked up at him.

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go out to dinner tonight with me." This wasn't the first time he asked me. I always gave him an excuse but this time I knew he knew that Christmas was my least favorite holiday and I had no plans.

"Look, I'm really tired, Dylan. Maybe some other time."

He nodded. "Alright."

Night fell and the snow was finally starting to pick up. Everyone was starting to leave, so I gathered up my stuff and, reluctantly, walked out with Dylan. Luckily, we parted ways at the door. He took a taxi and I was heading to the subway.

Outside the subway entrance near my apartment was a McDonald's. I knew it wasn't the best food, and the homeless guy probably ate it all the time, but I grabbed two coffees, and some other food anyway. When I started towards the apartment, it was to my dismay that I didn't see him sitting there. Maybe the snow forced him to seek shelter somewhere else.

And then I heard shouting.

"Hand over your money, man!" A voice growled. "C'mon, I know you have some! You sit here every fucking day!"

I approached the alleyway. There were three dark figures. One on the ground and two standing. It looked like one of them had a knife.

"Hey!" I shouted. "Hey!

The two turned their attention to me.

"Oh shit," another voice said.

And the two ran off. I put the food and the coffee down onto the crate the homeless man usually sat on. I can't say I was surprised to find out it was him who the muggers were beating up.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

He sat up, letting out a grunt.

"Hey, I should call 911." I started to pull out my phone.

"Don't!" He quickly interjected. "I'm fine. They just got me in the back. It's just that I have a bad back. I'll be okay!"

The man tried to get up, but ended up slipping.

"Look, I know this is going to sound stupid," I began. "But I got you some food."

The man looked up at me and I caught a glimpse of his face, bruised and tired looking.

"Hey, why don't you come inside? At least come out of the cold for a little bit," I offered.

He shook his head. "I don't want to be a burden. Besides, they won't let me stand in there."

"It's Christmas Eve and the snow is going to get bad. I'll take you up to my apartment." I looked up at the sky and then back down at him. "At least come in and eat, please."

He hesitated. "Alright."

I grabbed him by the jacket of his arm and helped him up. He winced and steadied himself using the wall. I took the food and led him inside, ignoring the night security guard's questioning look.

"My name's Max," I said as we got into the elevator.

"My name's Nick," he said. In the elevator, his eye looked a lot worse, but at least there didn't appear to be anything, well, life threatening.

It only struck me later that I hadn't thought about any of the consequences of letting a homeless man into my apartment. For all I knew, he could be a serial killer or something. A little while after I heard him get out of the guest bathroom, I went to check on him. The door was open to the guest bedroom, and I held my breath as I approached it. There was nothing to be scared of though. Nick was sprawled across the bed, already asleep, too tired to even make it under the covers.

I smiled to myself a little and went back to my bedroom. For the first time in a long time, I didn't have that nightmare.


	3. Chapter 3

**Remember Me – Chapter 3**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

The snow that night Max found me ended up being some of the worse snow the city had ever seen. She ended up working from here for the next few days. It was almost painful to sit around and be so close to her without her knowing it was me. I wanted to pulled her towards me and never let her go.

The days didn't go by slowly though, thankfully. Max was generous and kind to me. I had come here expecting nothing from her, and now we were sitting here talking to each other like we had known each other for years. Well, we _did_, but she didn't know that.

"Hey, so you haven't got any plans next weekend, do you?" she asked me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Besides go to the soup kitchen?"

She laughed. "Don't be silly, I'm not going to kick you out."

"Well…" Of course I wanted to stay, but I couldn't make that obvious. Then she would think I was weird or something.

"This year I've finally been invited to my company's fancy beginning of the year party and I'm allowed to bring one guest. I was wondering if you'd want to come with me."

Now I was shocked. It must have showed because she laughed.

"Look, I'm not going to go otherwise. Well, Dylan keeps telling me I _have_ to go, but it's only because he wants me to be there."

I had heard a lot about this Dylan guy. He seemed alright. Max only seemed half interested in him though, which was a relief to me.

"Well, it sounds like fun," I finally managed to say. "But I'll be a burden with my bad back. I can't stand for very long."

She shook her head. "I don't dance anyways. We'll sit for most of the time, I promise."

Now she sounded like the Max I knew.

"Alright…"

"Great!" She grinned at me. "We can get you something to wear tomorrow then."

Was it even possible she could be sweeping me off my feet already?

* * *

><p>The last time I had worn a tuxedo was for my wedding. I almost laughed when I saw myself in the mirror. It had been a long time since I looked, well, this good. I even shaved my beard. When I came out of my room, dressed, she was waiting by the door. I had to stop my jaw from dropping.<p>

"Hey there, handsome."

Was I blushing?

"You look good without a beard," she added.

"Thanks. You look…great too." Was I really fumbling over words? "I mean…the way you are…not like you had a beard before…"

Max gave me a smile and led the way out.

After a half an hour taxi ride, we exited and entered into a grand hotel.

"Would you mind giving me your arm?" Max asked.

"Of course." I stuck my arm out and she looped hers around it. My damn sleeve. Then again, I was the one initiating the contact. It wouldn't have worked anyway.

"Hey, Max!"

Max began to lead me towards a man who was probably the same age as us or a few years younger. In his tuxedo, he looked like he could be a movie star.

"Dylan, this is Nick. Nick, this is Dylan." She introduced us and we shook hands.

"I haven't met you before," Dylan said, eyes already sizing me up.

I wasn't going to lie. He probably was better than I was. It became a mystery to me of why she hadn't fallen for him already.

Max ignored his remark. "How's your back, Nick?"

It was already hurting me. "It's alright."

Dylan raised an eyebrow.

"We're going to go sit. You can join us if you want, Dylan," she told him.

He wasn't interested though. In fact, he looked a little upset as we walked away from him.

"Don't worry about him," Max said under her breath.

We spent the night sitting and talking. I found myself telling her about my "wife" and our "divorce." It killed me though. She listened, and she said all the right things, but she didn't remember me. I wanted to reach out for her hand and pull her close. I wanted to ask if she wanted to go and run home and forget the world.

"You still love her," Max stated.

I let out a sigh. "I guess so."

"Well, you never know, things may work out." She gave me a small smile. "Hey, so do you want to get out of here? Let's go home and make some coffee. I've already shown my face."

"Th-That sounds great," I smiled back at her.

We were at the door, and I could have sworn Max was about to take my hand, when Dylan caught up to us.

"You're leaving?" he questioned.

"Well, yes," Max responded.

He stood there, shifting his weight. "Oh, alright then. I'll see you at work then."

Max nodded and we walked out into the cold to hail a taxi, the atmosphere of our conversation dissipating.

* * *

><p>Max went back to work on Monday, so I seized the opportunity to pay Iggy a visit.<p>

"You got a shower?" Iggy asked as I came in.

I sat across from him. "Yeah, I'm living with Max. It's complicated though."

"You're what? That's great!"

"She hasn't…I haven't been able to make her remember though. I mean, she barely knows me. She picked me up off the street because I was getting beaten up by a bunch of guys who wanted some money for drugs."

"Jeez, Fang." Iggy ran his fingers through his hair. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I know, thanks." I sunk into my chair. "I'm going to get you out of here soon though. I promise, Iggy. This time it's for real."

He gave me a grin, something I hadn't seen in a while. This time he believed me.

The next week went without any chances though. I was starting to get frustrated, so on a whim, I asked Max if she wanted to go to dinner Friday night.

"That sounds great," she had said to me with that smile of hers. "Why're you so nervous to ask?"

"I-I don't know. We can't really go anywhere nice. I haven't got that much money…"

"I'll take you to a place. Never mind the cost. I still owe you for going to that stupid work party with me."

And so Max and I had our first date planned.


	4. Chapter 4

**Remember Me – Chapter 4**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Max's POV-

I wanted so badly to take Nick's hand as we walked back to my apartment. There was something so familiar about him. I felt like that I had known him in some other life.

"I really enjoyed dinner tonight," he said with a nervous smile.

"Me too." I grinned back at him.

We were standing at the corner, snow falling once again. He looked up and I looked up with him and we watched the snow fall between the buildings that rose above us.

"Wow." He breathed out, his breath visible. "It's pretty, isn't it?"

I could only nod and the walking signal turned to green. We started across, still smiling at each other. And suddenly the smile wiped off his face.

"Max, watch out!"

He pushed me and stumbled forward onto the sidewalk. I turned around just in time to see a car hit Nick. The car screeched to a halt, but Nick had already flipped over the top and lay sprawled behind the car.

"Nick!" I scrambled to get to him.

"Max…" He started to cough up blood.

"You're going to be okay!" I pulled off my scarf and pressed it against his chest.

"Th-thanks for e-e-everything," he stammered, shaking.

"Max! Oh my God!" It didn't even register to me that it was Dylan who had gotten out of the car.

I ignored his blathering. "Nick, you look at me!"

He coughed again.

I grabbed his hand, squeezing it.

As soon as my hand made contact with his, a rush hit me. Those fragmented dreams became whole and I realized why he was so familiar.

"Fang, don't you give up on me now!" I squeezed his hand harder. "I'm so sorry…please…"

He shook his head. "My backpack, Max…an-answers…"

"You can explain everything to me after we get you some help," I said.

A small smile formed at his lips. "Max…Max, I love you."

"I love you too, Fang…"

He coughed again and then closed his eyes.

* * *

><p>I sat in the waiting room with my eyes closed. Everything Fang had said to me about his ex-wife was really about me. I remembered being shoved into a van, how they injected me with something and brainwashed me, forcing me to leave him. How I had gotten from California to hear, I couldn't remember.<p>

It was past midnight when the doctor came out to see me.

"He made it through surgery," the doctor informed me. "Mr. Ride is going to be in a lot of pain, but he's going to live and I expect him to recover fully, especially with the abilities he has."

"What's the damage?"

"He has a couple of cracked ribs, a broken shoulder, and his left leg is shattered."

I winced.

"You two aren't married anymore, but I'll make an exception since you're the only one he has listed as an emergency contact. I'll take you to see him."

"Thank you."

He nodded and led me down the hall.

I sat on Fang's right side. He was still being sedated because of the pain, but I took his hand anyway.

"Everything's going to be okay," I whispered.

* * *

><p>Fang was in no condition to be conscious and I knew he wouldn't want me to sit here for days and days cooped up in my least favorite place in the world. I left to go home and shower. My head was still full of questions, but I knew I would have to wait for Fang for explanation.<p>

After I caught my breath at home, I packed some clothes for Fang, grabbed his backpack, and headed back to the hospital. My phone was full of messages from work and Dylan. I had already sent an email to my boss saying I would need some time off due to an emergency.

I sat down next to Fang's bed and began to go through his bag. There were some old clothes, junk food, and then a stuffed zip lock back. I took that out and opened it. There was a wad of cash, a small black notebook, and his wedding ring on a chain. I looked down at my finger. They must have taken mine after they brainwashed me.

Inside the notebook was Fang's scrawl. He had notes on all of us, where we were, what we were doing. There was a phone number scrawled under Iggy's name with the name of the hospital we were in. He was here.

I closed up all of Fang's stuff and put the notebook into my pocket for safe keeping. The psych ward was just three floors above us.

"Can I help you?" a nurse questioned me.

What was his real name? Jacob something.

"I've come to visit Jacob," I said.

"Oh," she sounded surprised. "Just sign in and I'll take you to his room."

As we walked down the hall, I learned Iggy was rarely visited except by a man who the nurse said she suspected was homeless. I figured it was Fang.

"Visiting hours end at four," she told me as she left.

"Fang?" Iggy sat at a small table, his eyes still unfocused and pale blue.

"Iggy…"

He rose from the chair and took a step forward. "Max?"

Before I could acknowledge him, he pulled me into a hug.

"Max…" He squeezed me tighter.

I hugged him back, trying to push the tears away.

"Please tell me he's okay," Iggy sniffled.

"He…He got hit by a car, but he's going to be okay," I replied.

"That's a relief. I just thought since he didn't come…"

"I'm going to get you out of here, Iggy."

He let out a laugh even though he was crying. "Fang kept promising me that. I never doubted him. I always knew he'd pull through."

That didn't surprise me one bit.

* * *

><p>I sat in Fang's hospital room with Iggy going through all of Fang's notes. Iggy had explained most of it to me, but it was only hitting me now that none of us had wings.<p>

"They didn't 'fix' Fang correctly," Iggy said. "Somehow you and I don't have to deal with the, well, physical pain."

I closed my eyes, remembering what if felt like to move my wings. It had been so long though. I could barely remember it. There had been enough crying though. I don't think I had any more tears left to shed.

"So Angel is Angelica Matthews the politician and Gazzy is a soldier fighting right now." I flipped through the pages. "What about Nudge? There isn't anything about her."

Iggy shook his head. "She never made it Max. She's…she's dead."

"What?"

He closed his eyes. "You were gone before it happened. They brainwashed all of us into hurting each other. We were having an argument and she ran out into the street. She got hit by a car, except Gazzy was driving it, and then they took us all away."

I guess I did have more tears to cry.

"Don't cry, please." Iggy reached out and drew me into a hug. "We've cried enough already. And I-I don't think I can cry about this anymore…"

Iggy did his best to comfort me. I just couldn't let go of how this could happen to us. How could _I_ let this happen to us?

* * *

><p>"Max…"<p>

I took Fang's hand and gave him a smile. "Hey, you."

He gave me a weak smile. "Hey."

"How're you feeling?"

"Wonderful now that you're here," he said.

I let out a laugh despite the fact I was trying not to cry.

"I'm glad you're okay." My voice was shaking.

Fang lifted his hand and brushed the hair out of my face. "I love you, Max."

"I love you too, Fang."

A grin stretched across his face. "God, I wish I could kiss you right now."

And so I leaned forward and kissed him.

"Hey! You two! I'm still here!"

We broke apart and I turned. I had totally forgotten he was in here.

"Please, carry on!" Iggy smirked. "I'm glad you finally got me out, Fang."

Fang chuckled and a sense of relief washed over me. Things felt okay again and I felt myself smile along with them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Remember Me – Chapter 5**

By MyNameIsCAL

-Fang's POV-

The pain was awful. Especially because my back was acting up too with the freezing temperatures of winter. I took medication when it got bad. Max insisted that I should so I wouldn't suffer. It was good to be home though. Well, back at Max's place, but home for now. Home because that was where she was. And Iggy now. He seemed so happy to be out of the hospital. He cooked every night. It seemed like it had been forever since I had eaten this well.

I was stuck in bed though. At least until my leg had healed up better. I would probably need surgery again, but they wanted to see how my healing went first. Damn, Jeb. If I ever got my hands on him, I'd beat the crap out of him. Or maybe I had just taken my healing abilities for granted. I guess I should be thankful to be alive.

Max started to go back to work three days a week. Just so we'd have some extra money. She decided there was no point in her quitting yet since we didn't exactly have any plan how to get to the others. It wasn't like we could just go see Angel, and Gazzy was all the way in Afghanistan. Although she had to come home on breaks to help me go to the bathroom. Let's just say you shouldn't trust the blind guy to get a crippled person around.

Today Max was working so Iggy dragged a chair into Max's room to watch TV with me. I was trying to search the internet for flowers. It was Valentine's Day tomorrow and I needed to get Max something.

"What're you doing?" Iggy asked.

"Trying to find flowers," I said.

"For Max?" he chuckled. "What's the big search for?"

"Well, I don't have a credit card."

He got up and returned with his wallet. "Here. Order some roses. I'll prepare a nice dinner for you two tomorrow night."

"You don't ha-"

"No, I owe you that at least, alright?"

"Alright," I gave in. "Thank you."

"Sure. Just don't go maxing out my card, okay? I'm gonna go make us some lunch."

"Of course," I answered, but he was already gone.

* * *

><p>This probably sounds stupid, but I was nervous. I mean, there was no reason for me to be nervous. Max and I were getting along just fine. It was like nothing had changed. And still, here I sat in bed, counting the hours, minutes, and seconds until she came home.<p>

"Relax." Iggy came in. "Look, take a painkiller. I've got a three course meal planned. I'd like you to enjoy it."

"Iggy, why are you wearing a suit?" I frowned.

"What? It's a fancy restaurant! Ristorante of Max's Apartment," he bowed.

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, master chef, go cook."

He grinned and handed me a painkiller and a glass of water.

Around half past six, Max came home. I had just barely finished shaving and brushing my teeth with a bowl of water Iggy had given me.

"I saw the roses." Max had a smile growing across her face. "Thank you. They're beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," I said, lamely.

She laughed and leaned down to kiss me.

"Happy Valentine's Day," I told her as she pulled away.

"Why's Iggy so worked up about dinner and why is he wearing a suit?" she asked me, smoothing out my hair.

I shrugged. "He felt like being fancy. Fancy dinner tonight."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna shower. I'll be out in a few."

I nodded and she disappeared into the bathroom.

"Hey!" Iggy popped his head into the room. "She in the shower yet?"

"She just went in."

He entered the room carrying two trays. "Ok, so here's your silverware and stuff. Tables, yeah?"

"What're we starting with?"

"Soup, salad, then steak, and then dessert."

I took the tray and put it in my lap. "What about you? I mean, you can eat with us, it's ok, really."

"Nah, there'll be enough for me. I'll eat in the kitchen. It's all good." He paused. "Like I said, I owe you, Fang."

Before I could say anything else, he turned on his heel and went back to the kitchen. Iggy really was too good to me. I wish I could have saved Nudge. They would have been so good together. I tried not to think about it though. She wouldn't have wanted it to be that way. Yet behind all of Iggy's grins and jokes, I knew he was hurting.

Iggy came back in. "Can you have wine or are we doing soda?"

"I don't think wine and painkillers mix, Ig."

He nodded. "The shower just turned off. I'll go put the salad together."

Max had the hairdryer on now. I still remembered when we barely had time to shower and how I used to try to run my fingers through her hair when it was all knotted and matted with dirt. She always got defensive about it even though there wasn't really anything she could do about it, but you know, Max can be cute when she gets defensive. Don't tell her I said that though.

By the time Max came back, Iggy had two trays with salad on it.

"Would you have dinner with me? Since I can't take you out, Iggy's offered to be our shelf." I motioned to her side of the bed.

She sat next to me and kissed me on the cheek.

"I got you something," she said. "I mean, it's not dinner or anything…"

"I'm sure it's perfect."

Max smiled and we started our first course.

* * *

><p>I had another two surgeries over the next three months. The warm weather made it easier on my back at least, and I gained some more mobility back with being able to sit in a wheelchair now. Iggy and I spent most of our days trying to figure out how we could find a way to meet Angel. She was supposedly doing a tour of the country to support a presidential candidate. That could be our chance. Unfortunately, there was little about Gazzy.<p>

"Maybe Angel would be able to help us get to him." I let out a yawn. "When's she coming to New York?"

"You said June, I think. Oh, but there's that charity event she's holding in a few weeks." Iggy pushed some coffee towards me. "But we'd have to get her to like shake our hand first. What if she doesn't?"

"I don't know. Maybe I'll trip or something." I sipped the coffee. "Thanks."

The door opened and Max came in holding groceries. Iggy got up to help her put things away.

"How do you feel about paying to get into one of Angelica Matthews' charity events?" I asked.

Max raised an eyebrow. "The one that's like a thousand dollars a ticket?"

I nodded.

"Well, we better get 'em now. What have we got to lose?"


End file.
